The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How to get a title for your untitled

I found this discussion at another forum and thought some soul might be able to use it. It details how to go about getting a title when you have no title. We have had many questions on this subject and this will answer most or at the least those of Texas truck owners.

It is only $2.30 for a title search, that is the first step no matter what you do. If you can locate the previous owner, they can apply for a lost title. Otherwise you have to apply for a bonded title. I recently bought a 1962 Comet S-22 from a salvage yard with no title for $750. I had a bill of sale from the yard. (Funny thing is, a salvage yard in Texas is not supposed to take a car without a title. They mentioned this at the "DMV" but didn't hold me up, luckily.) In Texas, you have to take whatever paper work you have to them, and in my case they gave me a letter of rejection. Then you have to get a bond to cover the value of the car. The bond is based on the NADA excellent resale value of the car, unless you get it appraised. The state will accept an appraisal from any Texas car dealer. The NADA value on this car was $17,500 (yea, right!) I know a local car dealer and gave him $50 in exchange for an appraisal for this car and a 57 Chevy pickup. I also bought with no title. (Both show to be appraised for $750.) All of the places I found charge $100 minimum for the bond. I then took the bond and application back to the "DMV" and paid $144 for a 5 yr antique registration (using original 1962 tags I got on EBAY) and tax, transfer fee, etc. For the truck, I paid $90 for the transfer fee and tax only. In Texas, it is important not to mention or fill out and part of the forms indicating the car is not operable, incomplete or does not have an engine as you then have to have a peace officer inspect the vehicle. IMO, it is also best to do several cars at a time, as it does not take much more time to do two or three cars than it does to do one. They gave me the receipt and said that I would get a bonded title in the mail in 3- 5 weeks. That was 3 wks ago, so the titles should be here soon. The bonded titles are transferable and stays as a bonded title for three yrs. After this I can apply for a regular title with no indication that it was bonded. The reason for the bond is in case the previous owner comes up saying the car was stolen, etc., even though the "DMV" check to see if it has been reported stolen before starting the process. The lady I talked to at the "DMV" said that there is almost no chance that a previous owner could make a claim, since it would have to have been reported stolen recently. RED TAPE!!![/quote]

In Texas you can get a bonded title. Call these guys. They have been around a long time and I have used them. http://www.lawrenceautotitle.com/FAQ1.htm

My local tax office told me to go to TxDOT, that they have a list of bonding companies. That is a bunch of hooey- they specifically do NOT have a list. (It would be a conflict of interest: the state steering business to a private company.)

Speaking again with my tax office, they told me to go to my insurance company. My company doesn't write bonds, but referred me to one who would. They wouldn't.

Third try was a charm: the local tax office said (with a wink) they were NOT recommending a particular company to be, but "we get a lot of bonds in here from Insurance Office A and Insurance Office B." I went to the A office and got it uneventfully.

Bottom line: also consider searching out local convenient insurance offices.

Speaking from experience,

Bill

This all seems to be dealing with the Texas DMV.Seems to me that each state has their own set of rules regarding titles.Some states do not even require a title for a vehicle if it is so many years old.

Each state does have its own regulations. The way I recommend is the link above. However, this is for Texas only. Every state is very different.

Is there another state?

Minnesota is the exact same way when you go to get a clean title. with one exception. here we have to fill out a statement of facts sheet and if you can prove (in my case) the previous owner has passed on you do not have to bond the truck

What about assembled titles. The guy I bought mine from is having a tough time finding the title for my truck. Wisconsin has an "assembled" title where you can build a truck out of parts, then title it when done. Just have to have it inspected by a peace officer to make sure all the safety requirements are met. Then you can set the year and weight class, etc......

In Kansas for vehicles 1949 and older all you need to have is a Bill of Sale from a Kansas resident. Take that to the License Bureau and they will fill out the paper work for a title. You must however have an "identifying number".
For vehicles over 35 years old but after 1949 you can take a bill of sale from a Kasas Resident to the Kansas Highway Patrol for an inspection. The vehicle must be 90% complete with motor, etc from the same era. I have never had one turned down, however i wouldn't try it with a '51 with a v8 in it.

And i thought it was bad in California.................

I have done the bonded title process in both Arizona and New Mexico..and the experiences were entirely different. In Arizona, the MVD was very helpful, explained the process, and helped me with figuring out where the last title was from, who to send forms to, etc. etc. This was about 10 years ago and the bond fee was $50 then. They even gave me a 90 day temporary registration to drive around with during the process.

My first experience with the bonded title process in New Mexico was excruciating. First off, the MVD people were argumentative and rude, and tried to tell me there was no such process in New Mexico, and I was stuck with a vehicle that I could not legally own or drive. They kept insisting that the previous owner didn't have the legal right to sell any vehicle without a title. I didn't believe them, so I contacted the New Mexico Governor's office by email.

Within a few days, a very nice fellow who is the MVD Field Manager for the entire state of New Mexico called me and explained that yes, indeed, there was a process in New Mexico for obtaining a bonded title, and after explanation, it appeared to be very similar to the process in Arizona.

Long story short, after I explained my treatment at the particular MVD office where I had been told there was no process for bonded title, I shortly recieved a call from the office's manager, who explained that she would help me personally upon my next visit, and I didn't have to take a number or wait in line.

She still objected to helping me, and made it plain that she was only doing so because her boss had said she had to. She still insisted there was no process for a bonded title in New Mexico, especially the part about giving a temp registration.

Regardless, the process that didn't exist was begun, and a temporary registration was issued me.

Thankfully, having some experience tracking people, I got on the internet and started searching. With a lot of persistence and a little luck, I was able to locate the titled owner in Missouri through a retired military interest website. The fellow checked with his local MVD the next day and was surprised to find the vehicle was still titled in his name in Missouri, since he had sold the vehicle about a decade earlier!

Before I filled out too many forms, or had purchased the bond, which would have cost $60, the fellow in Missouri simply went and got a duplicate title, signed it, and sent it to me. It was all real simple after that.

Just today I got my 1959 Viking registered here in New Mexico. Again there was a title problem, this time one I was not even aware of. The title I got was in the name of someone who had passed away in 1995. The widow had sold the vehicle at auction in Colorado in 2003, and believed she had done what was necessary, signing the title as the successor, and attaching a copy of the death certificate for her husband who had died 8 years previous. The fellow I bought from had never had the vehicle titled in his name, so I got the same paperwork he had, which I figured was complete. I even got registrations and other paperwork for the truck going back to 1965.

Again, I made the mistake of going to the same MVD office which had given me so much trouble with the bonded title process, and they told me all the paperwork I had was worthless, and I needed to find the lady in Colorado, whom I never met or had contact with, who had sold the truck 5 years ago, and then have her put the truck in her name, in Colorado, before she signed the title over to me. Well, all I had was a name on a title that had been signed over 5 years ago.

Well, this last Tuesday was a holiday, so all the state offices were closed. I couldn't get anything done on the title, so I got on the internet again as started searching. Soon, I found the name of the lady who had sold the vehicle back in 2003, found that she had remmarried, and had her new last name, along with an address, zip code, and phone number right here in New Mexico in a town about 10 miles away! That was the "luck" part again!

Before I could get in touch with her, I had again emailed the governor's office, and contacted every dept having to do with the MVD, and every state Senator and Representative.

Today I got a call from another State-level MVD employee who explained that the MVD office I had visited on Monday was again, wrong. That I could get the 59 Viking titled and registered here in New Mexico without having to go back to Colorado, and without having the previous titled owner having to have the truck taken out of her deceased husband's name and put into her name first. All I needed was one notarized form from the previous titled owner, and that form was available online at the New Mexico MVD website!

With those form, I was able to title and register my truck today, alone, with no problems, at a different MVD office where the fellow who called me this morn suggested I go. He also emailed ahead to that office's director to help me personally.

I know this is a long post, and I'm sorry for that. I guess my point is, don't take no for an answer. If you have a vehicle with no title, or possible slight title problem, don't give up. If you know you have made an honest deal and you are in the right, then don't let the local MVD or DMV office bully you. Go over their head to someone at the state level who has the authority to make things happen. State Government is still supposed to be working for us, and you have the right to expect service from government. Someone up the levels of management will have the knowledge and training to help you. There is a way!